COLONIE — Town cops out in force over the Halloween weekend as part of a countywide DWI blanket patrol got quite a surprise early Sunday.

It came when police pulled over a 24-year-old local man on suspicion of druken driving and found that he had a Breathalyzer costume in his vehicle.

Once more, Theodore M. Piel of Colonie allegedly refused to take a Breathalyzer when back at the police station. He'd been stopped after his vehicle was observed allegedly speeding and tailgating, Traffic Division Lt. Ken Pero said Monday.

The stop was made about 1:20 a.m. at Central Avenue and Tull Drive. Piel told Officers Nicholas Sidoti and Nicholas Burns he had been at a house party and offered to don his costume, Pero said.

Police at that point gave Piel a field sobriety test.

"Whatever tests he was given, he failed," Pero said. Among them was a pre-screening, known as an Alco-Sensor test, in which the motorist is asked to blow into a little tube-like device which checks for the presence of alcohol.

Piel was taken to the police station, and walked in dressed up in the sobering attire.

He was a "happy person" when he came in, Pero said, but his mood soon changed. He refused to take a Breathalyzer which shows the person's blood-alcohol content.

Piel also allegedly caused other problems for police while handcuffed to a desk where an officer was using a computer to fill out an arrest report.

When the officer stepped away, Piel — using his free hand — grabbed the mouse and deleted all of the information the officer had put on the report, Pero said.

As a result, Piel — who was already facing a misdemeanor DWI charge and traffic tickets — was also charged with unauthorized use of a computer and obstructing governmental administration, both misdemeanors.

Piel was then moved away from the computer, but he became "upset and took his costume back off," Pero said. He was given an appearance ticket and released without bail.

Piel was one of 37 people arrested over the weekend on charges of drunken driving or driving under the influence of drugs, officials said.

The local saga of the Breathalyzer costume also has a national twist.

Lt. Pero said he got a call Monday from truTv (the former Court TV), concerning an Oxford, Ohio teen who was arrested around the same time, 1:30 a.m.. Sunday, while also dressed as a Breathalyzer.

James Miller, 18, was driving the wrong way on a one-way street, police said. His blood-alcohol level registered at nearly two times the legal limit. And to make matters worse, police said they found multiple Ohio IDs in his wallet.

It could be the Breathalyzer costume was the hot item this Halloween, Pero speculated.

Locally, the Albany County STOP-DWI program coordinated the blanket sweep that involved sheriff's deputies, state troopers and officers from 11 municipal agencies. They made 1,518 stops from 10 p.m. Thursday to 5 a.m. Sunday and arrested 25 people for drunken driving, another nine for aggravated DWI which is blood-alcohol level of 0.18 and above, and three for driving while ability impaired by drugs. The Labor Day weekend blanket patrol netted 34 arrests.

On Halloween weekend last year, 33 motorists were arrested. This year the average blood-alcohol content was 0.148, the same as a year ago.

Also over the weekend, 62 motorists told police they were designated drivers, 50 fewer than in 2008, Sheriff James Campbell said.

Carol DeMare can be reached at 454-5431 or by e-mail at cdemare@timesunion.com.